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RoadPeace press release
13 January 2007
Greater consistency in punishment for dangerous drivers who
cause injuries and deaths
RoadPeace supports the call by the Parliamentary Advisory
Council for Transport Safety for increased penalties for those
dangerous drivers whose victims survive, many with permanent
disabilities.
At present, motorists whose dangerous driving causes a road
death can face a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Yet the same
dangerous driving, and thus same culpability, that only causes an
injury or disability, has a maximum prison sentence of only two
years. The driver's punishment should not depend on the health or
age of the victim nor the weight or design of the vehicle.
Amy Aeron-Thomas, RoadPeace Director, said:
'Much of the recent discussion about this proposal
has been misconstrued. People are confusing dangerous driving with
careless driving. We are talking about extreme cases here. The CPS'
definition of dangerous driving does not apply to momentary lapses
or minor mistakes. It requires very serious culpabilityi-less than
10% of fatal crashes incur the charge of Causing Death by Dangerous
Driving. There are 15 times as many convictions for drink driving
and five times as many for careless driving as there are for
dangerous driving'.
Take the recent example in Newcastle where the driver, with 13
previous driving convictions, was given an indefinite jail sentence
for causing the death of a woman. His driving also resulted in her
niece having her leg amputated. If the aunt had survived, even in a
permanent coma, the driver could not have received more than two
years in prison. Same driving, same culpability, but a much more
lenient punishment if the victims do not die. Many of the injured
die within a few years of the crash as the result of their injuries
- there are no prosecutions at all in those cases.
Brigitte Chaudhry, RoadPeace Founder and President of the
European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) added:
"The Home Office has repeatedly said that the
standard of driving, rather than the consequences, should determine
the punishment. We agree, but what is lacking in the UK is a charge
that addresses the fact of injury. RoadPeace has campaigned for
over ten years for closing the justice gap between motoring
offences and other offences involving similar culpability. Road
crashes involving criminal acts are still too often perceived as
accidents, as is seen by Sir Stevens' pronouncement of the death of
Diana, Princess of Wales as an accident, despite it being caused by
a drunk driver driving at extreme speed."
For further information contact
RoadPeace office 0208 838 5102
Amy Aeron-Thomas 07905847917
Brigitte Chaudhry 0208 964 1800
Note to Editors
1.Careless driving is defined as that below the standard of a
reasonable driver while dangerous driving is that which is far
below the standard of a reasonable driver. Examples of careless
driving includes driving through a traffic light, driving while
reading the newspaper or a map, driving with a leg or arm in
plaster, etc. The CPS is currently consulting on how to
differentiate between careless and dangerous driving as they have
acknowledged they have not kept up with public opinion and are
perceived as undercharging.
2.There is no minimum prison sentence for dangerous driving or
causing death by dangerous driving or even manslaughter.
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